National Share-a-Story Month

From Federation of Children's Book Groups

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3

Region(s): All of UK

May is National Share-a-Story Month, an annual event that celebrates the rich world of children’s fiction and aims to promote a love of reading by sharing stories. The theme for National Share-a-Story Month 2026 is Once Upon a Storytime, and invites children, families, schools, and communities to connect through books, storytelling, and the spoken word.

Supporting resources for National Share-a-Story Month will be available to download from the FCBG website. These include:

A themed booklist with read-aloud recommendations for children and young adults.
A Once Upon a Storytime competition open to schools, libraries and community groups. Closing date 30th June 2026.

About The Federation of Children’s Book Groups: The FCBG is an umbrella organisation that coordinates and supports the work of local Children’s Book Groups across the UK. As well as events for parents and children organised at a local level, the FCBG also organises the FCBG Children’s Book Award and other national events to help bring children and books together.

Further resources:

Sign up for an immersive, interactive celebration of reading, music and imagination based on the picture book Stanley’s Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton on 20th May. Aimed at children aged 3-7, this is a free Go All In Together event for the National Year of Reading to celebrate National Share-a-Story Month.
Explore over 250 carefully curated titles with accompanying book-based activities and practical resources to foster a love of reading in school and at home on the LoveMyBooks website. Free to access and created by literacy experts, the website features books for young readers aged 0-11.
Find tips, videos, activities, book recommendations and useful links that can be shared with parents and carers to support reading and communication skills at home from the Children’s Literacy Charity.
Share Stories with Me is a free booklet created by the National Literacy Trust containing tips and fun ideas on how to explore and enjoy books with babies and young children that can be shared with families and carers.
Primary teacher and creative arts workshop facilitator Becci Smith shares some top read aloud tips in our Read Aloud Recipe blog.
Find recommended class read-aloud titles for pupils in EYFS to KS2 from the experts at Books for Topics.
Sign up for the Story Seekers, a free, fully-resourced oracy and creative literacy project from the National and Unicorn Theatres for primary-aged pupils based around finding, telling and sharing stories from around the globe.
Visit our Access to Authors section for a list of organisations that can help you arrange an in-school visit from an author or storyteller to help you celebrate National Share-a-Story Month.
Get involved with one of the book awards where young people read, discuss and vote for the winning titles. There are plenty to choose from and they cover a range of genres and reading interests.
Explore the latest research on how to promote Reading for Pleasure and find examples of practice from teachers around the country on the OU Reading for Pleasure website.
There are opportunities all through the year to celebrate the power of stories. National Storytelling Week, World Book Day and International Literacy Day are just a few suggestions but explore our Literacy Year calendar to find more options.